Method of making ornamental plaques



M. J. McLAUGHLlN. METHOD oF MAKING ORNAMENTAL PLAQUES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25.1918.

Patented June 28, 1921.

BY y

Mae/MMM'TTORNEY.

PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL JOSEPH MCLAUGHLIN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

METHOD OF MAKING ORNAMENTAL PLAQUES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 28, 1921.

Application filed July 25, 1918. Serial No. 246,760.

To all whom z't may concern Be it known that I, MICHAEL J. MCLAUGH- LINa citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the county ofSt. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Methods of Making Ornamental Plaques, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a method for making ornamental plaques andsimilar articles in which a sheet of paper or similar material bearing asuitable inscription is mounted on a suitable backing for the purpose ofdisplaying the inscription.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a method by meansof which ornamental plaques and similar articles may be readily castfrom plastic material so as to provide a strong and durable mounting forthe picture or inscription to be displayed while presenting a neatappearance.

A further object is to provide a method by means of which plaques may bereadily produced at small cost and with but little work, no expert skillbeing required for making the plaques.

Another object is to provide means whereby a plaque may be formed inwhich a transparent covering for the picture to be displayed is tightlysecured in the body of the plaque, a suitable frame being formed aboutthe edge portion of the covering so as to give the appearance of apicture framed in the ordinary manner.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description.

This invention is intended more particu larly as an improvement over themethod set lforth in my United States application,`

Serial #87,263, entitled ornamental plaques and method of making theAsame, filed March 28th, 1916, and allowed December 20th, 1917. In thisimproved form of my invention, the sheet of paper upon which the pictureor inscription to be displayed is printed, or painted, is dampened andplaced upon a smooth non-porous surface, face downward, after which thebacking and body portion of the plaque are cast of suitable plasticmaterial over and' about the moistened sheet of paper so as to embed andbrace and support the paper, and display the picture or inscription toadvantage.

In the accompanying drawing which is illustrative of the invention,

Figure l is a top plan view of means embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail on the line 2-2 of Figl.

Fig. 3 is a front view of aplaque constructed in accordance with theinvention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modication.

Fig. 5 is a front view of a plaque con structed in accordance with amodification.

F ig. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 6-*6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of a modification showing the parts on alarger scale.

In carrying my invention into effect, I secure a sheet of smooth highpolished plate glass 1 of relatively great thickness, (about a quarterof an inch thick,) upon a supporting table 2, which is mounted in aperfectly level or horizontal position. The upper surface of this glass1 is then thoroughly cleaned and polished to remove all dust, specks,and foreign matter therefrom. The sheet of material paper 3, or otherupon which the picture to be mounted is painted er printed is then cutto the required size and thoroughly moistened, after which it is placedupon the upper surface of the sheet of glass 1 face downward. The paper3 is then smoothedor rubbed gently so as to remove all air bubblestherefrom. After this has been done, if the sheet of paper is ofrectangular configuration, four pieces 4 of highly polished steel areplaced about the sheet of paper with ends in contact so as to form aninclosing frame disposed in concentric spaced relation to the paper;this frame being composed of a plurality of members which may bereadilyand easily dis assembled. A suitable mixture 5 of plasticmaterial, such as a mixture of plaster-of- Paris and water is thenpoured into the molding frame formed by the pieces of steel which havebeen placed together, the Inaterial flowing over and about the sheet ofpaper which adheres closely to the upper surface of the supporting sheetof glass. Due to the fact that the under face of the sheet of paper 3 isin close contact with the upper surface of the sheet of plate glass 1,none of the plastic material 5 will flow between the paper and theglass, but this ma terial will flow about the edge portions of the paperso as to cause this paper to be embedded in the body portion of theplaque formed by the plaster. After this plaster has been poured intothe frame, any suitable hanger 6 may be embedded in the plas-V ter afterwhich it is permitted to set for approximately one-half an hour. Afterthe plaster has become sufficiently firm, the pieces of steel may bereadily removed from the same, after which the plaque t is movedslightly so as to be disengaged fromv the surface of the sheet of plateglass, the plaque thus formed being then trimmed to remove allprojections or ragged edges by means of `a sharp knife or suitableinstrument.

The plaster Which is cast in the frame forms a substantially rectangularblock which constitutes the Vbody of the plaque,

the sheet of paper 'bearing the picture or the Vpicture so as to displaythe same to advantage, this frame also serving to prevent detachment ofthe paper from the plaster.

lVhere it is desired to provide a transparent covering, such as a sheetof glass, for the picture, the above described method is slightlyvaried. ln this case, the sheet of glass 7 which it is desired to use asa protective covering for the picture is supported a short distanceabove the top surface of the supporting sheet of plate glass l, by meansof a sheet of card-board 8 or other suitable material placed beneath thesame. rlhis sheet 8 should, preferably, be somewhat smaller than thesheet 7 of glass, Which it is desired to use as a covering. lf it isdesiredfto mount a picture six inches by ten inches, of rectangularoutline, the protecting sheet of glass maybe cut of this size, a sheet 8of'cardboard 5x9; being placed beneath the glass 7 so as to support thesame Ya short distance above the upper surface of the supporting sheetof plate glass. Preferably, this cardboard 8 Vshould be dampened so asto fit tightly against the upper surface of the plate glass and theunder surface'of the sheet 7 of framing glass. After the sheet 7 offraming glass has thus been supported above the upper surface of theplate glass l, a frame t may be formed about the sheet of framing glass7 by placing bars of steel about the same in concentricspaced relationin the manner previously described, the picture 3 or inscription to bedisplayed being first dampened'and neeaeae As the sheet 8 of cardboardwhich supports Y this glass 7 is approximately 35 less in length andbreadth than the glass, thiscard board 8 will leave a space ofapproximately 2l in width extending the full distance about the framingglass. The plastic mixture Willfloiv about and under the sheet of glassv7 so as to fill in this space, thus forming a frame which completelyincloses the edge portion of the glass 7 so as to secure it in the bodyof the plaque. After the plaster has set sufficiently, the pieces ofsteel forming the molding Vframe are removed, after which the sharpblade of a knife or any other suitable instrument may beinserted intothe sheet of cardboard 8 which may be lifted away from the sheet offram- Y ing glass, the glass 7 being inclosed Within aV framecorresponding in thickness to the thickness of the card board. Ofcourse, any

'card board of suitable thickness or several thicknesses of cardboardmay be employed, y

Having thus described my invention, What l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is.-

A process of making an ornamental plaque comprising placing the face ofthe ornamentation upon a iixedpolished surface and building the sides ofthe mold upon said surface around tlie'ornamentation and casting theplaque in saidrmold inthe usual manner, and then removingthefcast plaque

